I bought those nuts years ago off ebay and they were made for bikes, at least that's how they were advertised. They were already tapped for 5/16 - 24. I had them on a 50's Hawthorne rider but thought they were perfect for this bike so I switched them.

Worked on removing the paint, took more steps than I expected. I initially tried sandblasting but it was going too slow so I resorted to spray-on stripper. That worked quite well. Used a scotchbrite pad and soapy water to remove any loose residue and then went back to the sandblast cabinet. I'll probably spray it with WD40 to keep the rust at bay until I'm ready to paint.
With the paint stripper working
Excess scraped off
Clean and ready for paint

I might prime it instead of the WD40, just something to keep the rust off while I finish the mock up. Don't want to paint until all of the parts are fitted and adjusted

I appreciate all the encouragement and the suggestions to leave it natural, but I already have a plan for it so I guess I'm going to keep going that direction. I do like the look of the bare steel and the brazing so I'll probably go that way on my next build. I have a Twin-Flex frame that I sandblasted for a friend at the same time I did mine and that gave me some inspiration for my next build. I know some will be disappointed with the paint idea but I think in the end you'll like the result. We'll see! (If you don't like the finished project you can ..... me out then)

I appreciate all the encouragement and the suggestions to leave it natural, but I already have a plan for it so I guess I'm going to keep going that direction. I do like the look of the bare steel and the brazing so I'll probably go that way on my next build. I have a Twin-Flex frame that I sandblasted for a friend at the same time I did mine and that gave me some inspiration for my next build. I know some will be disappointed with the paint idea but I think in the end you'll like the result. We'll see!

Click to expand...

I made the call! but i respect the acceptance of constructive criticism even more. Well done... The builder must follow there own gut feeling and that is Final.... Well payed! "On With The BUild!"

Made some new fork struts today. I wanted the struts to be parallel with the fork legs and needed some additional length for tire to fork crown clearance. Started with some 1/2" SS tubing, flattened one end and drilled the bottom holes. After bending them the way I wanted I cut them to length and tapped the top end to 7/16 - 20.
Made studs from 7/16 - 20 bolts by cutting off the head, turning down the unthreaded section to 3.8" and theading that to 3/8 - 16.
Installed the studs into the ends of the new struts.
Finished strut ready to mount.
Couple of pix mocked up on the frame.
Rake angle is deceiving because the back of the frame is sitting on the floor.